Simon India Ltd. Vs CT and GST Officer (Orissa High Court)
Final GST Audit Report to be issued after considering Assessee’s Reply
The Hon’ble Orissa High Court (“the High Court”), in the case of M/s. Simon India Ltd. v. CT and GST Officer, Cuttack-II Circle, Cuttack and Anr. [W.P.(C) No. 26443 of 2022] ruled that, the final Goods and Services Tax (“GST”) Audit Report shall be issued only after considering the reply filed by the assessee, and thereby allowed the Petitioner, M/s. Simon India Ltd. to file the reply under section 65(4) of the Orissa Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (“the OGST Act”) after the department filed the draft and final GST audit report on the same day.
Facts:
M/s. Simon India Ltd. (“the Petitioner”) challenged the draft Audit Report dated June 30, 2022 issued by the Head of Audit Team-1, CT & GST Circle, CU-II, Cuttack and Final Audit Report dated June 30, 2022 submitted under Section 65 (6) of the OGST Act, on the ground that the Petitioner was not granted any opportunity to file its reply in accordance with Rule 101 (4) of OGST Rules, 2017.
The audit exercise commenced on October 8, 2021 but the three months’ period commenced on March 22, 2022 when the Petitioner was stated to have submitted the documents called for by the authorities.
The authorities released the final audit report and the draft audit report on the same day, June 30, 2022, probably aware that the 3-month deadline had already passed.
Issue:
Whether draft audit report and final audit report can be issued without seeking reply of the Petitioner?
Held:
The High Court observed that:
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